Not-so-distant past

By Dale Jodoin In the not-so-distant past of the 1960s and 1970s, a revolution began to simmer across the lands of the Free World. This was not a revolution fought with swords and shields, but with picket signs and loudspeakers. The warriors? Women, armed with unyielding resolve for equality. Their battlegrounds were not the fields of war but the gyms, saunas, and clubhouses that bore the invisible sign: "Men Only." As television sets flickered with images of these brave souls, many laughed, some scoffed, but history was taking notes. The women's rights movement, like a determined stream carving through rock, began to reshape the societal landscape. They demanded equal time and space where none was given, and slowly, the walls of exclusivity began to crumble. Fast forward to the 1970s and 1980s, the era of disco balls and arcade games, where another front was opened. Girls and women, inspired by their predecessors, ventured into the sacred halls of men's sports in schools. They were heralded as heroes, pioneers fighting not just for a place on the team but for the very principle of equal opportunity. Then came a twist in the tale. The Boy Scouts, a bastion of young male adventure and camaraderie, began to welcome women as troop leaders. And why not? If equality was the quest, why should any domain remain untouched? But the plot thickened as girls, too, joined the ranks, blurring the lines between the Boy Scouts and the Girl Scouts, entities that had coexisted yet apart, like parallel universes. Now, as the wheels of time have spun into the 21st century, the landscape of equality has morphed into a realm where the very fabric of gender is questioned, stretched, and redesigned. Boys and girls, men and women, and everyone in between or outside these definitions, find themselves in a world where the Boy Scouts have shed the "Boy" to become simply "Scouts," while the Girl Scouts watch from the sidelines, their identity intact but their purpose under scrutiny. In this new world, where transgender athletes compete in women's sports, a chorus of protests arises. The irony? The quest for equal opportunity that began decades ago has unfolded into a reality where the lines drawn by gender are not just crossed but erased. Yet, as the victories of yesterday's battles are celebrated, the outcomes of today's wars are lamented. The story, however, does not end here, for this narrative of equality is one of constant evolution. What began as a fight for equal space has spiraled into a complex dialogue about identity, inclusion, and the very essence of fairness. Pandora's box of equal opportunity, once opened, cannot be closed, nor can the voices that have emerged be silenced. As we stand at the crossroads of history and future, the irony of our journey is not lost. The very outcomes fought for with passion and pride have unfolded in ways unforeseen, challenging us to question not just the nature of equality but the nature of our desires. In a world where logic and feelings collide, where government and society grapple with the definitions of right and wrong, we are reminded that the path to equality is fraught with unexpected turns. And so, as the sun sets on the old world and rises on the new, we are left to ponder the lessons of our past. The quest for equal opportunity, like any great tale, is one of irony and insight, where the outcomes we seek may just be the ones we least expect. Welcome to the new world, where the battle for equality continues, not with swords and shields, but with open hearts and minds, in the ever-evolving story of being.